Fayette County all aboard plan for Green Line

Proposal would convert rails to trails toward Shelby

More than 20 miles from the eastern end of the Shelby Farms Greenline, officials in Fayette County are embarking on plans to pave a path that someday could tie in to the multi-use trail in Memphis.

The town of Oakland is leading the effort to build an 8-mile trail from near its City Hall westward to the Shelby County line. The Fayette County Green Line, as officials are calling it, would follow the abandoned CSX railroad bed -- the same corridor accommodating the Shelby Farms Greenline.

Fayette County already owns most of the right-of-way, which was deeded by the railroad around 1968, said Oakland Mayor Scott Ferguson.

Officials now are trying to secure scattered parts of it that are owned by individuals, he said, as well as arrange for funding assistance from private foundations.

The Green Line would be 12 feet wide -- compared to the 10-foot width of the Shelby County trail -- and include a side path for horses, Ferguson said.

Construction, projected to cost from $40,000 to $45,000 per mile, could begin by this fall and last about six months.

The effort in Fayette County coincides with work in Shelby County to extend the 6.5-mile Shelby Farms Greenline eastward from its present terminus on the north side of Shelby Farms Park near Mullins Station. From there, it is nearly 13 miles to the Fayette line, plus eight to Oakland.

Shelby County has received initial approval for a $3.3 million grant to extend the Greenline about 4.3 miles to the old Cordova depot. There also have been preliminary discussions about a further extension to the Fayette line, said Tom Needham, Shelby County Public Works director.

Ferguson said a trail linking Oakland and rural Fayette County with Memphis would be a major regional amenity.

"It ties together two different types of cultures -- a major metro area and one that is more of a bedroom community," he said.

In addition to extending the Greenline eastward, several groups in Memphis have been making plans to provide bicycle connections westward to Broad Avenue and Overton Park and, eventually, to the Mississippi River and Arkansas via the Harahan Bridge.

"The idea of being able to get on the Green Line in Oakland and go all the way to the Mississippi River would be huge," Ferguson said.

While local governments would contribute some portion of the nearly $3.5 million cost of the project, officials hope to get donations from private foundations and other sources.

Fayette County Mayor Rhea "Skip" Taylor said the trail project would fill a void.

"We don't have any parks in Fayette County to speak of," he said.

Shelby Farms Greenline opened in October 2010 and runs from Shelby Farms to Tillman in Binghamton. Local officials say usage -- measured at up to 400 cyclists and pedestrians per hour at some locations -- has greatly exceeded expectations.

Land-acquisition and construction costs for the Shelby Farms Greenline totaled nearly $7.5 million, of which about $5 million came from private donors.

Needham said that once the county secures the grant funds, officials will begin negotiations with CSX toward the purchase of the right-of-way section between Shelby Farms and Cordova.